Hero, A Shego Story Part II
by stitchedXtogether
Summary: Shego has paid the price for saving Kim Possible. But who said she died? I didn't, that's why I wrote a sequal you idiots! READ THIS AND THE FIRST ONE!


Sup, stitchedXtogether here. I wrote it like you asked, and it's a far sight longer than the last one, but Shego's out of character most of the time. But, hey, I get points for trying, right? Alrighty guys, without further interruptions (although I should have gotten more reviews before writing the sequel, review damnit!) here it is. Enjoy.

Hero, A Shego Story Part II

I remembered a few things as I faded in and out of consciousness-the Hovercraft jerking to a stop, strong arms lifting me up, me actually _whimpering_ from the pain of being moved (the blissful numbness had gone away and now there was a not-so-pleasant hole in my stomach). I found myself wondering if the doctors numbed me before removing the metal pole. Because I _felt_ it. I felt them cut off one end, and then surgically remove the other part. I felt the oh-so-cool metal leave my fiery skin, making it feel as though my insides were being ripped out. I think I screamed more than once.

But when I woke up, I mean actually _woke up_, I was in a hospital bed with a room and clothes to match. I moaned to myself from the pain and lifted my head. Or tried to. I fell back onto the pillow none too gracefully. Great. I slowly tried out my muscles, flexing and working the joints. I found that I could move everything above my waist-my legs just didn't seem to want to work. Whatever, I would work on them later. I couldn't quite feel a few of my fingers either. Straining myself into a sitting position using only my arms was a workout. I, Shego, was sweating from trying to_ sit up_.

After resting for a second, I pulled up my hospital shirt to find thick woven gauze and bandages with dried blood on them. My skin was pale. _Pale_, not light green. It was almost frightening. I licked my dry lips and looked around me. Everything was so . . . white. And plain. It was starting to give me a headache. Now, I don't know if these doctors and nurses are psychic or what, but one of them popped in as soon as I was done looking around. Or maybe it was just all this machinery I was hooked up to. She was an elderly woman with white hair and glasses. Wrinkles Theme Park.

"Oh my," she said smiling. "You really shouldn't be awake right now. Those pills the doctor gave you should have knocked you out until tomorrow. How are you feeling?" She came over and started checking the monitors.

"Well, other than having a gaping hole in my chest, I'm just peachy," I said dryly. I tried to pull myself into a more upright position, but she gently pushed me down.

"You can't exert yourself with a wound like that. How one gets a pole stuck in their chest, I'll never know," she twittered, trying to make it a light subject. "You know, almost nobody wanted to treat you, seeing as you're a super villain. That stuff never really bothers me. I guess it's my old age. Oh, but look at me going on. I'll go tell the doctor you're up, so sit tight."

"Can't do much of anything else," I called after her, annoyed. I can't just sit here! What if Dr. D is making up another stupid plan and needs me? I'm getting paid by the hour! This is just money down the drain. Suddenly a tall man with salt and pepper hair walked in with a clipboard.

Smiling at me, he said, "Hello, my name's Dr. Jared. My assistant told me you're a bit cranky. I guess that's to be expected right now. We had you in surgery for about three hours. But over all, how do you feel?"

"Fine Doc," I said sighing. "When do I get outta here? I have stuff to do."

"Well you're not going anywhere for a while. Your injuries are extensive. You practically have a hole through your chest, major burns and abrasions on your back, and-" He looked at the clipboard and then at me. "Do you want the bad news now or later, Miss . . . Shego?"

I felt something twinge inside. "What do you mean? There's no bad news, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong with me. . ." I realized I was babbling and shut up. His expression turned soft and he repeated the question. Was that pity in his eyes? "Fine, I'll take it now. What's the bad news?"

"Shego, I'm going to give it to you as simply as possible. When the pole imbedded in you stomach, it clipped your spine and some of your tibia, cracking and fracturing them-"

"No, no, no, no . . ."

"And the surgeons did all they could but unfortunately-"

"Shut up, it's not true, you're lying . . ." I cut him off.

"You are now paralyzed from the waist down, most certainly for the rest of your life. I'm sorry," he finished.

I felt tears start to stream down my cheeks. This wasn't right, how could I be paralyzed? I dumbly recalled all of those action movies where the heroes got injured but always recuperated. Why couldn't real life be like that? Or maybe Dr. Jared got the wrong results. The x-rays of another patient. "_You're wrong_!" I screamed at him, throwing a vase near my bedside. "You got it _all wrong_! _I'm not paralyzed_!" I started to struggle to get up and scratched and clawed at him when he moved to help me. I faintly heard him call for a nurse as he struggled with me. "You're wrong, got that?! _I'll prove it_!" I suddenly stopped my wild battle with the doctor when I noticed something being injected into my neck. All my anger drained as the images blurred in my vision. As I fell into unconsciousness, I vaguely remembered afterwards that plasma never covered my hands once during the fight.

I awoke drained and depressed, for the first thought to my mind was-_paralyzed_. I still couldn't wrap my mind around it. I was a freakin' super villain. Super villains are _not_ paralyzed. They don't just sit there while others are out concocting schemes and stealing precious jewels. Super villains are not . . . _useless_. One of those idiotic nurses popped in again after a half hour of staring into space. She asked if I was up to having visitors. _Visitors_? Who would-maybe it was Dr. Drakken. That stupid . . . whatever. I told her it was fine and she scurried off.

It took a few minutes before I saw the door open hesitantly. As I figured, Drakken came in-but so did Kim, Ron, and Rufus. Ron of course was in a wheelchair for his broken leg. I figured my mouth sort of just hung open before I snapped it shut. "What . . . what are you guys doing here?"

"We came to see you Shego," Dr. D mumbled. He looked at his feet, and then at me. "We were worried. The doctors said you wouldn't make it at one point."

"Well you know me," I replied sarcastically, putting it off. "I never go down without a fight." I looked at the others and took in their weary presence. Drakken was pale blue and had bags under his eyes. It also looked like he hadn't shaved or changed recently. Kim had a patch on her cheek and gauze strips at different places up her arms, which were visible from her normal wear-a short sleeved shirt and long baggy pants. Ron, looking happy as can be in his wheelchair, had gauze around his head, thin bandages around his hands, and a cast around his leg. "You look like shit Stoppable."

He shrugged and then grinned. "That only means I get to test out my new munch and go theory-eating Nachos in wheelchairs! I can't wait to get that puppy going." Rufus made happy, chittering sounds. Everyone in the room chuckled. I did more of a cough, but it counts.

"Speaking of Nachos, is there some decent food in this place?" I asked. "I'm starving."

"Well if Jell-O is your thing, say hello to the good life." Ron rolled his eyes. "They feed you nothing _but _Jell-O. And don't get me started on the mashed potatoes."

"Is it really that bad?" I asked, cringing. I couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to them. My mortal enemies no less.

"No," Kim laughed, ruffling Stoppable's hair gently. "But you really should watch out for the broccoli. That's not so great." So after a little more discussion, we decided to get some lunch. Of course we had it in 'my' room, as I came to call it. Ron was right, it was Jell-O galore. Then the stupid nurse came in and said I needed my rest. How did she know what I needed? I barely restrained myself from telling her to go to a certain fiery pit when she told them to leave. They promised they would come and visit me tomorrow. But who knew if that was going to happen? I suddenly felt very lonely when they left.

I tried to remember what had gone on in the hospital before I got drugged. I remembered that my powers didn't seem to work during my 'episode.' I tried drawing up a little flame of plasma into my hand. It didn't work. I tried again and again, concentrating hard. I started to feel sweat running off my forehead. Come on, it's _just a little flame_. Do it . . . _do it_. I felt something spasm in my arm and there was a flicker of green in my palm. The smallest flame imaginable was sitting in my palm, dancing in flashes of neon and dark green. Then it started spitting sparks and grew hot. I quickly made my hand into a fist, extinguishing it. Why couldn't I control it? More importantly, what was _wrong with me_? Maybe I was just weak from the injury. That must be it. I dwelled on this until I fell asleep.

The nurse beside me woke me up when she was changing something. "Yo, keep it down over there."

She started and then smiled. It was the same one as yesterday. "Hello dear, I just came in to fix the drip over here and make sure all of the machines are working. Feeling better than yesterday, I hope?"

"Sure," I mumbled, glancing at her. How could someone be so cheerful in the morning?

"I spoke to the doctor, and he said you'll be here for a while. We'll be seeing a lot of each other. Dr. Jared. Such a nice man." While she talked, she hunched over and checked all the monitors and made sure everything was running smoothly. "Anything you need before I go?"

"No, not really." She started to walk away. "Wait." While the woman turned around, I mentally grimaced. Well, I had to learn her name sometime. Like she said, I'll be here for a while. "What's your name?"

She smiled her wrinkly smile and replied, "Mary, Mary Keen." Then she was gone. Mary Keen huh? I finally knew the nurse's name after about three days. She seemed nice enough. Way too nice, but nice. I sat there trying to fully wake up, my mouth dry. Maybe now would be a good time to check out my powers. I opened my hand and looked at it. It didn't seem quite right without my clawed black gloves. It seemed, I dunno, small and pale. Definitely not a tool of destruction. Plasma blazed in my palm as if it was connected to my negative thoughts. It was controlled now, and close to its ordinary amount. Usually it coated my hand into an almost protective glove. Maybe I could push myself a little bit more. I did, it was like lifting weights in Dr. D's lair. Except harder. Again, sweat poured down my face and back, blurring my vision. I could do this, it was so easy before. All of my muscles tensed and started to ache. _Why was it so hard?_ I suddenly felt something flow through me, the pressure releasing itself. The plasma flamed in my hand covered it, now its usual size. I put it out and I allowed myself a soft, victorious, laugh. Until something stopped me.

My eyes widened as a pain beyond pain engulfed my stomach. I looked down to find a slight green glow coming from my stomach, the wound now open. Blood poured from it, turning the blankets, bed, and I crimson. I made a strangled sound in my throat and put my hands on the hole. The green light started to fade and disappeared completely when I called for help. "Mary! Hey, someone, I need help in here!" A cough cut me off, and I felt something warm trickle down my chin. "Hey! I-" Another cough stopped me, and more blood dripped in a steady stream from my mouth. Finally, Mary and another nurse burst in, their hands quickly flying to their mouths. One of them called for a doctor, I don't really know who. I was fading in and out. Mary came up to me and put her hand on my forehead. It felt nice and cool.

"Hold on," she whispered frantically.

I smiled up at her, just because she looked scared. "Not a problem," I said, coughing some more. I blacked out.

I woke up with someone holding my hand and their upper body strewn on the bedside. I shifted my head slightly to find myself looking at Drakken. I was shocked at first, I knew I had a rough start to the day, but was he really that concerned? Obviously, if he was laying here and waiting for me to wake up. He moaned in his sleep when I tried to withdraw my hand and cuddled it closer. Resisting the urge to slap him, I discovered a pink hue was dusting over my features. I was freakin' blushing. I settled back into the pillow and tried to stop. If he woke up and saw me like this, I would never hear the end of it. Once the blushing was under control, I decided this _incident_ shouldn't continue. With my other hand I managed to retrieve my lost appendage and decided that I should have a little revenge of my own. Gently placing my index finger on his forehead . . . I pushed him backwards.

"Ahhhhhh!"

To say the least, he was awake. I couldn't help it-I laughed until my stomach hurt, tears rolling down my face. "Shego I'll dock your pay for this!" Drakken threatened while trying to sit up. Great, my good mood was gone.

"It's not like you pay me all that much any-" Had I heard him right? ". . . You mean I'm still employed?"

"Of course!" He practically shouted. "You don't think I'd fire you for saving Kim Possible do you? Ha! You'll have enough chances to get her back next time. I've already devised . . . " Dr. D stopped in mid-sentence. "I guess I've done enough of that huh? Look what it's gotten you."

Crap, I didn't like where this was going. He was going into self-pity mode. "Drakken, it's not your fault. _I_ threw myself in front of Possible, no one could have predicted that."

"But I could have done something, anything. I always make you do all of the fighting and never think of you welfare."

I felt myself smile. "That's what you _pay me for_. I'm the fighter, and you're the evil scientist. Don't worry about me Dr. D. I always come out on top. But don't tell Possible, she won't like it."

His face darkened. "I don't think you'll be coming out on top now that you're paralyzed from the waist down, Shego."

It hit me like an invisible slap in the face. My smile was replaced by a thin line and I looked at my lap. "So the doctor told you, huh? Did he tell others?"

"Yes, we got the news after we visited you." I couldn't believe this. No wonder they hadn't been in to see me. I felt so weak now that my façade was gone.

"So what are you keeping me employed for? I can't fight anymore. I'm next to useless."

"Well, someone needs to help me with my planning. All my plans fail. If I had your input, I'm sure we could come up with something decent." His grin came back and he looked anxious. "And you could help the henchmen with their skills, God knows how badly they need it. We can still be a team Shego, just not the kind you're used to."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "You're starting to get kinda mushy Dr. D. But you _are_ right about the henchmen . . . Decisions, decisions." I played with him for a little bit afterwards, getting him to increase my pay. It was a fun game. He named a price, and I named a higher one. It all worked out in the end . . . for me. "Alright Drakken, I'm gonna call it quits for now," I said a while later. "Come visit me in a little bit when I can hold my head up."

He laughed at me and gently cupped my chin. "You're a nice person Shego, you just don't know it . . . " Dr. Drakken released me and walked out the door, leaving me to stare after him. _A nice person?_ Had he lost his mind? What happened to the old Drakken, the one that wouldn't _dare_ make a comment such as that? The one that wouldn't touch me if he didn't want my foot up his ass? I guess that Drakken was gone along with my legs. I lightly brushed my fingers along my chin. He wasn't _that_ bad I guess . . .

I don't know who this woman thought she was, but she was even louder than Mary. This nurse seemed to be _trying_ to wake me up, fiddling with all of the equipment at my bedside. I resisted the urge to yell at her and tilted my head to the side to get a better look. I did a double take. She looked almost exactly like Kim. Her hair was strawberry blonde and her eyes were green. That's when I noticed that this was no nurse, this was Ann Possible; a qualified surgeon and doctor no less! (I had learned this long ago while searching Kim's background on Drakken's Mega Computer) I was amazed, surprised, and horrified at the same time. This woman knew her medicines and could kill me if she so chose. "What . . . what are you doing here?" I asked softly.

"Well, right now I'm taking away some of the pain-killers they put into your tubes because the dosage isn't quite right. Your blood pack also needed to be refilled." She fiddled with them some more and then sat down where Drakken had been, a serious expression on her face. "And now I'm going to talk to you Shego. That is your name, isn't it?"

"Yes."

She sighed. "When I had heard that my only daughter had been in an accident, I immediately rushed to the hospital. When I finally got to see her, she looked so fragile. So broken. And the first words out of her mouth were, 'I'm fine.' Jim, Tim, and her father arrived shortly after. That's when she told us part of what happened. We cried for her and poor Ron who was in the bed next to hers, but still unconscious from the drugs. I was in shock. Her brothers even _hugged her_. That's how scared they were." My mouth was dry. Had Kim told her everything? Mrs. Possible seemed to be near tears and her warm hands were suddenly on one of my cold ones. "And then she told us how you helped save Ron and herself. And even little Rufus. I couldn't believe my ears. And then Dr. Drakken himself came in and asked how everyone was doing. It was then that I knew that what my daughter had said must be true. Why else would a super villain be checking up on his nemesis?"

She sniffed and I mentally cringed. Why was everyone around me getting so emotional? I looked around for a tissue box, spotted one, and handed it to her with my free hand. "Thank you . . . " She took one. "At first the boys were excited at seeing a real live villain. But, as you can guess, the poor man was in no mood for them. His colleague, and friend, was in the hospital with a hole in her chest." I had to admit, I liked how she didn't say sidekick. "We all came to see you the other day, but they said that too many visitors at once was probably a bad idea. They let Kim, Ron, Rufus, and Dr. Drakken go in instead of everyone. Jim, Tim, my husband, and I waited outside the room for the four of them to get back . . . but when they did . . . that was when the doctor, doctor Jared I think, gave us the news." Ann was actually getting choked up. _Over me_. It was kinda weird-she was crying now, for God's sake!

"And we were all so shocked. Dr. Drakken walked away without a word. We were all wondering why something so horrible happened to someone so . . . so . . . "

I felt the sudden need to comfort her, for what reasons I will never know. "It's alright, I'm not sorry it happened. _You_ shouldn't be-it gave you your daughter."

"But it didn't have to happen like this, somehow, you both could have dodged that pole. I know it. And so do you." Her crying hadn't ceased and she gripped my hand harder.

"Well, the mind isn't exactly logical when it's in a life and death situation. I saw a chance to save a life, and took it. For some reason I didn't feel the need to put myself into that equation." I finally looked up at her and tilted up a corner of my mouth. "Besides, I'm still alive. It could be worse."

She lifted one of her hands to stifle a sob that escaped her mouth. Once she could control her breathing, Mrs. Possible let her hand fall into her lap while the one still held mine. "I never thought I'd say this, but, _thank you for saving my baby Shego_. And the others too. None of us would be able to survive without them." Mrs. Possible finally let go of my hand. "Get your rest now. We don't want another episode like last night. And try not to think of your paralysis as a bad thing, if that's possible." Then she was gone, straight out the door. I sat there, stunned. Wow. Who would have thought this day could get any mushier and heartfelt? Why did she care so much? It wasn't like Kim and I were the best of buds. I vaguely wondered if I was going to get any more visitors today as I started to nod off. Conversations as long as that wear a person out . . .

I suddenly woke up about a half an hour later. Was someone trying to get into my room? Silence ensued for a minute. Just as soon as I was about to fall back asleep, I subconsciously heard two people enter the room. I kept my eyes closed and tried to figure out who they were. "Is that Shego?"

"Definitely. She looks just like the wanted posters." I had heard their voices before, but where?

"She's sleeping, maybe we should come back." They both sounded exactly the same.

"But then we'd probably never get to see her." Wait, were these Kim's brothers? The twins?

"What's the use of being in here if she's unconscious?"

"We can the configurements for _the plan_."

"She's going to wake up if you touch her!" I was going to do more than that if they touched me. "Besides, Shego just talked to mom, she _has_ to be exhausted after that. Who wouldn't be?"

"All the more reason she probably won't wake up." Now I remembered, these two were Jim and Tim.

"Please Jim? Can't we just wait until she wakes up? I really don't want to get on her bad side when I haven't even really met her before." Tim sounded so sweet. I'd have to remember that.

"I don't want to wait, and I know you don't want to either! Let's do it now!" his brother hissed. I felt them getting closer to my bed. "That way there's no awkward questions and I can finally take the measurements. You know this is best. She _deserves_ this for saving Kim." Measurements? Woah, now. I'm not naturally shy, but, come on. No one's measuring me. I sensed Jim's hand start to hover oven my bed. I grabbed his arm and yanked him towards me while keeping my eyes closed.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked. I slowly opened my eyes to find the twins terrified, mouths open.

"Nothing! We just came to visit you!" they said at the same time. I let go of Jim and he darted back towards his brother.

"How are you feeling Shego?" Tim asked quietly.

"Fine. But what are you really here for?"

They both looked at each other. "Nothing, nothing at all," Jim replied quickly. "We were just fooling around with some ideas, you know, tinkering."

"And what would this tinkering be? You seemed to be pretty serious about it." I quirked an eyebrow. "'I don't want to wait,' seemed to be the exact words." They looked at each other again.

"You were awake?" Tim asked. I nodded. He looked at his feet and murmured, "It was supposed to be a surprise, a-"

"-thank you present." Jim finished. Shocked didn't quite cover what I was feeling.

"You—you were going to give me something? But what do my measurements have to do with that?"

They grinned and at the same time said, "It's a surprise!" I felt a little smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

"So you really need these measurements, then?" Nod, nod. "And you wanted to surprise me?" Nod, nod. "Well come over here! I don't like to be kept waiting." Grins. They bounced over and asked permission to pull off my covers, explaining what had to be done. Then they set to work doing God knows what, measuring around my legs, ankles, feet, thighs, and calves. Lengths and widths. Inches and feet. And then they handed me my covers and disappeared out the door, looking as though Christmas had come early. That left me to get some much needed sleep.

The days turned into weeks and before I knew it, I had been at the hospital for over two months. And thankfully, I didn't have anymore plasma episodes. My stomach wound was doing good, although it still hurt slightly to move my upper body, and the others had been discharged. But that didn't stop them from coming to visit. It was kind of weird, having Team Possible as friends, including Rufus, but it wasn't unpleasant. Ron was walking and everyone except me had their bandages off. And a few weeks later, the day I would come to remember happened . . .

The 'tweebs' had come to visit me, as per their usual once-a-week visit (and I must say that Tim seemed to be showing a lot of interest in me). But they had something with them. It was wrapped in plain green paper with a single black bow on top. And it was long too, I spotted it as soon as they walked in. It looked as though the two of them combined could barely hold it up. "Hi Shego!" they greeted in unison while propping up the present beside my bed. "We finally finished-"

"-the present we were-"

"-talking about!" I had to admit, I still wasn't used to them finishing each other's sentences.

"Really?" I grinned. "What took you so long?"

They both smiled up at me. "Well, it had a lot of specifications-" started Jim.

"-and we wanted it to be perfect for you," finished Tim. "Sorry it took so long. But we think you'll really like it. We worked on it-"

"-day and night! And believe me when I say this is our greatest invention ever!"

"Ever!" Tim echoed. "Open it! Open it!" They picked it up and laid it across my legs. I playfully quirked my eyebrows at them and started to open it. The first thing I realized was that it was metallic. The shine coming from it was brilliant. I kept tearing at the wrapping paper and felt my heart stop. "Shego?" I knew my mouth must have been open, but didn't even bother to shut it. In my lap lay, what appeared to be, a pair of bionic legs. "Do you like them?"

I tried to speak but no sound came out. "Shego, are you all right?" I nodded and swallowed. The legs looked like they came up to a few inches above my knees, with metal feet and all.

"You guys made these . . . for me?"

"Yeah . . . like we said, sorry it took so long, but there were a lot of complicated elements involved."

I hardly dared to ask but . . . "What do they do?"

The twins looked at each other and spoke at the same time. "They'll help you walk again." I didn't know what to say. They took the paper and casually threw it in the trash. They weren't even acting like they were giving me my life back.

"Did you tell anyone about this?" I asked.

"No. For now, this is only for you to know about." Tim looked at my face and wiped my cheek with his thumb. I was freakin' crying in front of the tweebs! I chuckled at him and wiped the rest of them away.

"So . . . how do they work, Wonder Twins?" They grinned and each picked one up.

"Push back the blanket and turn your legs toward us." I did as I was told, using my upper body strength. My useless legs dangled over the bedside and the boys both bent down. They pressed a button on the mechanical legs and they both slowly opened to reveal a hollow inside. "Okay, now we're going to clamp these down on your legs-tell us if you feel anything."

"I don't think I will, I haven't since the accident." The legs clamped shut with a few hissing noises. A few seconds passed by . . . and then I started to actually feel something. A tingling of sorts. It started at my toes and went up to my hips, then crawled up my spine. "Wh-what's happening?"

"Do you feel anything?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to tingle all over. Is that supposed to happen?"

"Yeah! That means it's working!" Tim and Jim cheered. "The Bionic Legs inject little metal microbes filled with sustenance that-"

"-go the injured parts of your body and try to fill them in; they take control and seize the muscles after filling the bones with protein. Then the signals go directly to the brain, taking everything that wasn't being used-"

"-and making it possible to use again. Therefore, letting the paralyzed walk."

I closed my eyes tight and gripped the sides of the bed. I wouldn't cry in front of them again. The tingling had lessened now, and there was a dull throb in my legs and spine. I opened my eyes and smiled at them, asking, "Do you think I should try it out?"

"Definitely!" the two said together. They both got on either side of me and took an arm. "Ready?" I nodded. "One . . . two . . . three!" They heaved me up as I tried to stand. There were a few breathless seconds . . . and then I stood. They both looked at each other and slowly let go of me. _I was standing on my own_! I thought I was going to cry again. But instead, I started laughing. I laughed until I had the twins laughing with me and my stomach hurt. We collapsed on the bed and I hugged them tight.

"Oh my God you guys! Thank you so much! I never though I would do that the rest of my life!" I kept laughing

"And you haven't started to walk yet, Shego!" Tim was wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yeah," I replied, calming down. "Come on, let's try this now. I don't think I can wait." I stood on my own this time, both of them monitoring me in case I fell. I guess my brain could tell what I wanted to do, because I took a few steps, then walked around the room. I couldn't really feel my legs moving, and yet, I could. I was grinning my face off, and so were Jim and Tim. My new legs made little clanking noises every time I took a step. I felt so free, so _liberated_ . . . God, what I felt couldn't even be described in words. While the boys hugged each other and jumped up and down, I walked back over and knelt in front of them. My eyes twinkled as I embraced the two once again at the same time. "_Thank you_," I whispered.

While hugging me back, one replied, "But it's thanks to you that we still have a sister."

"And that makes you our hero in our book," the other interjected. And I just caught something else he whispered. "But don't tell Kim, she might not like it."

"These must have taken forever to make," I said, changing the subject and standing back up. I rotated my ankles and walked around some more.

"They would have, but we sped up the process a bit," Jim replied.

"Two heads were always faster than one." Tim said seriously. "So you really do like them?"

"Like them?" I started to laugh again. "Guys, I _love them!_" Then I realized how loud I was being. "We'd better be a little quieter, the nurses will wonder what we're up to." I looked at them fondly, ruffling their hair and chuckling. "When should we tell everyone else?"

"Soon, very soon." Jim looked like he was plotting something.

"What do you mean 'soon'?" asked Tim. "We should do it now!" Hell, he seemed more excited that I was. "It's not fair to make Shego wait."

"Personally, I'm with Tim, but it looks like you've got a plan." I waited for him to say something. Jim looked at me and grinned. I didn't like it so much.

Some papers, a discharge, and a month later . . .

I sat inside a conference room, waiting my future employer. I knew who it was, but they didn't know they were about to interview me . . . I couldn't wait to see their faces. There was muffled voices outside the room now, probably getting organized. I recalled how I had went to the GJ headquarters and announced my new career, giving up most of the money I had stolen, negotiating with them, and getting myself pulled off the most wanted list. I was a free woman. Drakken supported my choice and decided to do the same, although it was harder for him. Global Justice was much harder to convince about him rather than me. And they weren't too lenient. All of his weapons were taken away and his lairs were roped off for deconstruction. But it turned out okay, he decided to go and work with James Possible, back at the research labs. His work is doing wonders for NASA and Dr. Drakken now lives in a flat in New York City. I visit sometimes.

The door opened and two people walked in, so much into their conversation they hadn't noticed me yet. The red-head laughed and put her hand on her companion's shoulder. He was going to reply, but noticed me, his face going slack. Then he started grinning, his blond hair in usual disarray. She looked where he was looking and also recognized me. "Hey Kimmie," I said chuckling. "I heard you and Ron were looking for another partner. Am I qualified?"


End file.
